Southeast Asia Day 2:
Our second day in Bangkok was very short. We got up early and walked around the city. I had purposefully selected a hotel close to the Grand Palace so we could easily walk to it for a tour. Unfortunately, we did not realize that for the APEC 2022 summit, the country created a 5-day holiday. When we arrived at the Grand Palace, we discovered it was closed.
Kirsten and I decided that we would hire a Tuktuk to tour us around for a half hour. We had very little time before going to the airport for our flight. It was interesting because the tuk-tuk driver offered a 1-hour tour for only 100 baht to a shopping area or a canal boat tour. When we asked how much it would be for a 30-minute ride around the city, we were told it would be 300 baht. Confused I asked why. The “salesperson translator” explained that on the other tours, the drivers get paid to drop you off at the other locations.
We should have just made the time for the canal boat tour as the 30-minute scenic ride around the city was hot and spent smelling the fumes of the trucks on the road. A tuk-tuk ride in Bangkok is an open-air experience on busy city streets.
Back at our hotel we took a quick swim and chilled out at the beautiful rooftop pool and patio. It was a nice hot day to cool off in the pool.
Before long we were off to the smaller Don Huang airport. Having arrived 3 hours early we had lots of time to get some food and take it easy. About an hour and a half before our flight, however, Kirsten discovered that she had not packed her laptop and a few other things she left in a cabinet at our
hotel. We rushed to the information desk at the airport and called our hotel for us. Within a few minutes, they found the items we had left in the room. I asked the hotel if they could rush the items in a taxi to us at the airport. The hotel said to call back in 10-minutes as they had to find someone they could trust to make sure the items made it to us.
We were panicking a bit when we called back, the taxi was about to leave just over an hour before our flight departure, and we were told it would take “about an hour” for the person to bring us the items for 500 baht. The $15 price tag was the easy part. While waiting for the laptop to come, I exchanged some US dollars for the 500 baht and sent Kirsten through security. She would take all of our b
ags to the gate and get on the flight whether I made it or not. It was going to be very close, and I figured it would be easier to repurchase 1 flight rather than 2.
I got the number of the person bringing the laptop and could call them on Whatsapp. They assured me they were 10 minutes away 40 minutes before my flight. The only thing I was worried about was the fact that they closed the gate for the flight 15-minutes before the flight departure time as they shuttle people to the plane on the tarmac at this airport.
As soon as the laptop arrived nicely packaged in a box with my name on it, I paid the driver and rushed to security and customs. Fortunately, I was the only person in the room so I could rush through security with no bags, and they cleared customs as I exited Thailand. I ran to the gate and rushed up to the counter 20 minutes before my flight’s scheduled departure time to discover that my flight was being delayed and not even ready to board yet. I wished I had known earlier!
We flew on Air Asia from Bangkok to Siem Reap for about $50 each. A great affordable discount airline. The flight was just over an hour.
Arriving at the small Siem Reap airport, I wished I had prepurchased our Cambodian Visa. The line to get the visa on arrival was long and added about 45 minutes to the trip. A dozen people were assisting with visas but only one person processing the $30 US payments.
Our hotel had someone pick us up from the airport, and he was waiting outside the arrivals area with a sign with my name on it. The drive to the hotel was only about 15 minutes.
After a quick shower to freshen up in our room, our guide Vanna, met us at the hotel and took us to a restaurant for dinner. At the Panha restaurant entrees were only $6 at this upscale restaurant.
I selected a local dish of frog legs seasoned with lime leaf, lemongrass, tamarind spice, and peanuts in a vegetable stir fry with the most delicious spices. I had planned to grin and bear a meal but was amazed at how delicious it was. It took me longer to eat my meal however than Kirsten as I had to pick out the small bones from the meal which took forever. After this meal, I was ready to enjoy a great week of food in Cambodia.
